


Flying High

by AraSigyrn



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Community: j2_everafter, High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-21
Updated: 2011-01-12
Packaged: 2017-10-14 17:07:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/151547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AraSigyrn/pseuds/AraSigyrn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Sky High AU</i>. Jared's been looking forward to high school his whole life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Flying High

Jared Padalecki looks like a normal teenager; hair growing out of the old school hair cut, voice still squeaky around the edges and clothes still a contradictory mix of comfortable and bleeding edge fashionable. He fights with his sister over the remote, sweet-talks a beer out of his big brother when Jeff visits from college and spends hours on the phone with his best friend Sandy, talking about how their parents just don't get them.

The only thing immediately remarkable about Jared Padalecki, in fact, is that he's probably the only kid in the world who has been looking forward to high school for pretty much his whole life.

Sandy bought him a calender for Christmas, a Disney princess calender with extra sparkles glued on and Jared hung it up over his desk and crosses each day off with a skull and crossbones stamp. His momma thinks it's a little freaky but she only comes into his room to drop off clean laundry and tut about the mess. Sandy laughs her ass off every time she sees it but whatever. Jared isn't ashamed of looking forward to school, especially not high school, because seriously, even school is cool if it involves giant rocket engines and anti-gravity fields.

Sandy blames it on their neighborhood, which is a cookie-cutter middle class suburb in San Antonio. "It's such a conformist environment." she said back at Jared's last birthday after Jeff spiked her jungle punch. "There's all this pressure to conform to the stereotype of the whole American Dream. Mindless consumerism and commercialized media bias!"

She passed out after that and Jared was grateful. He stopped being grateful after she puked all over his new sneakers but Sandy insists to this day that it was karma. Jared doesn't get why Sandy gets so worked up about things like that; his family watch CNN after dinner when his parents are on the news, which is at least three times a week and the worst bias that Jared's ever seen was when one of the news anchors called his mom's cape 'avant garde' which made his mom so mad that she flew all the way around the world just to cool off.

His parents think that fitting in is the most important thing of all and Jared was five before he realized that most parents don't treat modern life like an exotic adventure. He's always known that his family weren't locals but it wasn't until he came back from school one day in tears because Jimmy from Home Ec said that being excited to say the Pledge of Allegiance was something only losers did that his dad actually explained why.

His dad was just back from New York, thwarting another attempt to blow up the UN and he took Jared off to the car wash, the two of them sitting in his dad's big truck while the jets sprayed soapy water all over the windscreen and Gerry Padalecki explained that they were actually aliens.

Jared, who'd spent the previous week listening to Sandy talk about the oppression of the Native American population, blinked. "But aren't most American people aliens, dad?"

"Not our kind of aliens, son." Gerry said seriously. "We're not from another country, Jared. We're from another planet."

"Oh." Jared blinked. "You mean, like Mars?"

"Not Mars, Jared." His dad paused for a second. "Although it's probably the closest match; Galactronous is a red planet but it's much farther away from Earth than Mars is. It's much bigger too."

"How far away is Galactronous?" Jared's grasp of interplanetary distances is pretty vague; he's only nearly sure that Mars is further away than the moon.

"13.5 hyper-years." Jared looked blank. "Far away, right on the other side of the galaxy."

His dad goes on to tell him that his whole family is from Galactronous, which is why his parents can fly, deflect bullets and all the other cool crime-fighting things they do in their 'other job'. His dad finally admits that he and Jared's mom are actually superheroes; Apex and Vortex. They're not the only superheroes but they are the only superheroes from Galactronous. They're the most famous super-hero team in the world which is why half Jared's class has lunch-boxes with their picture on them. It actually explains a lot.

Jared finds out that he is going to be a superhero too, which is awesome and that he'll learn all about his powers when he starts high school. His dad tells him that he can't tell anyone about this but Sandy guesses the next time Jared sees her. It turns out okay because Sandy is going to be a superhero too eventually.

Sandy isn't as excited as Jared about going to Sky High and she never manages to explain why. Jared thinks it's because Sandy already has her powers; she's been fixing up cars with her dad since she was eleven. His powers haven't come in yet and Jared's starting to worry that he's going to be stuck as a dorky gangly kid for the rest of his life.

So yeah, high school is a big deal and Jared's looking forward to it.

He wakes up at six on the first day of school, a whole hour and a half before his alarm and can't get back to sleep despite his best efforts. After half an hour staring at his ceiling and wondering if he should dust away the cobwebs, he gives up and goes to grab the first shower before Megan wakes up.

Choosing what to wear takes forever; this is going to be the biggest day of Jared's life and his mom's favorite advice is 'dress to impress'. Jared's never needed to impress his peers so badly in his life. He doesn't want to look like a jerk or a geek or just plain stupid. By the time he settles a clean pair of jeans and a Spurs jersey, his hair is halfway dry and looks like a hedgehog. Jared winds up having to steal some of Meg's hair products to try and fix it. It is not his finest moment.

His alarm goes off and he clatters downstairs to find that his mom and dad are both starting work late so they can see him off to school. His mom is making French toast for him and his dad is sitting on the other side of the table with the newspaper in front of him, smiling proudly at Jared over the headlines.

"You must be so excited, sweetheart!" His mom fills a plate with French toast and bacon for him. "Look at you, all grown up! I'm so proud of you."

"Now, I know you're a good boy, son." His dad chimes in. "I know you'll do your best and I want you to know that you can always come to us if you have any problems."

"Yes sir," Jared says around a mouth of toast.

"Have you got everything, hon? Your books? Your gym gear? Your pencil case?"

"Yes, mom." Jared finishes off the last of his orange juice and squirms away when his mom ruffles his hair, undoing all his hard work. "Thanks for the breakfast, mom but I gotta run."

"It wouldn't do to start your high school career by missing the bus." His dad agrees, clapping Jared on the shoulder and remembering his super strength just in time.

Jared kisses his mom's cheek, waves to Megan and races out the door. Sandy's waiting at the end of the drive, bag over her shoulder and a travel mug in her hand. Jared wraps an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into a hug.

"Watch the goods, Padalecki!" But she hugs him back, just for a second.

"All that coffee's going to stunt your growth, McCoy." Jared teases.

"Lies and infamy!"

"Infamy, infamy! They've all got it in for me!"

Sandy rolls her eyes. "I swear to god, I am never letting you watch Carry On films again."

"You say that like you can stop me." Jared points out. "I have a working internet connection and godlike YouTube skills."

"I can _totally_ fix that." Sandy threatens as they arrive at the bus stop. Jared looks around eagerly but it looks like they're the only kids at this stop.

"My parents use the internet for work and you wouldn't want to deprive a hardworking family of their livelihood."

"I don't have to fuck up the internet connection." Sandy says sweetly. "I just have to tell your computer not to see it. _Ever_ again."

Jared adopts his best puppy-dog expression and pretends to swoon. "You monster!"

The bus shows up before Sandy can reply, which is just as well since Jared's got his iPod and his cell in his bag and Sandy can be evil when her coffee is threatened. He's disappointed to see that the bus looks like a normal yellow school bus and it smells like one too. The driver looks them up and down. "You kids got names?"

"Sandy McCoy." Sandy hops nimbly up the steps as the guy scribbles on a clipboard.

"You?"

"Jared Padalecki."

"Padalecki!? As in Apex & Vortex's kid?"

"Uh, yeah?" Jared fidgets, scratching his thumb along his bag strip.

"It's a privilege to meet you, son!" The bus driver gives him a serious nod. "You must be very proud."

"I-yeah, I guess?" Jared nearly trips on the steps and nearly trips again when he looks at the rest of the bus. There's got to be like thirty kids there and they're all staring at him. Jared just resists the urge to check his fly and sits beside Sandy, slouching low in his seat with his shoulders up. Sandy rolls her eyes.

"Ignore them, Jay." She pats his knee and looks out the window.

Jared is uncomfortably aware that his face s probably bright red and he actually does check his zip, relieved when it turns out to be all the way up.

"Hey!" Jared jumps and turns to look at the blond kid who's hanging over the back of the seat. "You really a Padalecki?"

"Ye-ah?"

"Awesome!" The blond kid, who looks kinda like a ferret, sticks his hand out. "I'm Chad Murray."

"The Murray Eel's kid?" Jared sits up and shakes his hand.

Chad nods, beaming proudly. "Yeah, that's my mom."

"I read about the bank job in Cincinnati, dude. I didn't think she lived around here."

"Back at you, man." Chad drapes himself more comfortably over the seat. "I mean, I knew your brother came here but I didn't know you'd be in my year. This is going to be so very cool!"

Chad turns out to know a lot about Sky High, starting with how the bus' seat-belts work. The bus turns out to be a lot cooler than Jared thought it was, when it turns down a side street and jet engines pop out of the back. It takes twenty minutes to fly to Sky High and Jared counts something like thirty other buses coming into land ahead of them.

The sun is shining, the only clouds are lower than the school and there's a big banner hanging over the front doors reading "WELCOME FRESHMEN 2010!!". There's got be like two hundred of them all clustered together at the front steps.

Chad sticks with them, chatting about the school and pointing out a few of the other students who he knows from middle school. It turns out some superhero powers show up early and there's a middle school to teach them which makes Jared feel like a useless little kid.

Jared's about to ask what Chad's powers are when some small guy with a sour expression and a leather jacket that looks weird with his perfectly groomed hair shoulders past him.

"Hey, watch where you going, dumb ass!" Chad shouts. The guy turns to give him the finger and Jared straightens up a bit, kind looming accidentally. The guy sneers and disappears into the crowd. "God, what a fucking douche but you showed him, Jay, that was awesome!"

"You know him?" Jared asks and Chad snorts.

"Yeah, that's Kane. He's a dick, I didn't think they were going to let him in here."

"Doesn't he have super-powers?" Jared is starting to feel more and more like a clueless baby in the face of Chad's encyclopedic knowledge.

"Yeah, he's got powers but didn't you see the horns, Jay?"

Jared blinks. "Horns?"

"Yeah, last year, he set a teacher's car on fire from like clear across the lot. Blew the whole thing into like a million pieces."

"Seriously?" Sandy chimes in, sounding skeptical.

"Yeah. He admitted it and everything!" Chad leans in, dropping his voice a little. "Teacher was the only one who had the guts to actually fail him."

"He did it on purpose?" Jared's jaw drops; he's aware that there are supervillains but he thought they were like criminals and old.

Chad shrugs meaningfully. "No-one said anything for sure but everyone knew he was pissed at that teacher."

Sandy huffs and folds her arms, turning to look at the crowd again. Jared looks around, then back at Chad. He feels very young and very stupid. "I thought Sky High was for superheroes?"

"It is." Chad says immediately. "But you can't tell people are going to be villains until they actually break the law so everyone with powers is assumed to be a superhero until they prove otherwise."

"Blowing up a teacher's car isn't a crime?"

"Not if they can't prove you did it on purpose." Chad says significantly, leaning in a little closer. "There's some really shady characters here but my mom says that I shouldn't make too much of a fuss about it."

"That sounds kinda stupid," Jared admits. "Shouldn't we stop them before they do something dangerous?"

"Yeah, but think about it, Jay." Chad looks around. "If they go to school here, then we get to learn all their powers and their weak points so when they _do_ step over the line, we'll know exactly how to deal with them."

"I guess that makes sense." Jared says while Sandy rolls her eyes and mutters something about 'profiling' and 'bullshit' under her breath.

"Trust me," Chad says as one of the teachers comes out of the door to round them up. "I'll introduce you to the good guys."

Jared doesn't get a chance to say anything else before they're hustled into lines and into the school auditorium. Chad tugs him off to the right and Jared catches sight of Kane and two other boys, taller and blonder joining the ranks to the left. Chad drags him over to where there's a tall good-looking guy leaning against the wall. He's like half an inch taller than Jared with a nice smile and a laid back attitude. "Tom Welling," he introduces himself. "From Smallville."

"Jared Padalecki." Jared says.

"Cool to meet you." Tom smiles again.

Jared looks around, noticing a clear but unspoken division across the auditorium. Most of the kids on this side are dressed casually, chatting and smiling. The kids on the other side of the hall are wearing black or leather or black leather and staring at the walls sullenly. He doesn't really have a chance to think about before the lights dim. A handsome man steps up to the podium and taps the microphone. The hall goes quiet.  
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." He looks around the hall. "And welcome to Sky High, the finest school for superheroes and empowered individuals in the world. My name is Will Stronghold and I'm the Principal here at Sky High. I'd like to take this chance to welcome you all and talk a little about what happens next. You are all here because you are remarkable unique people with a lot of potential to do a lot of good and we here at Sky High are committed to seeing that you all realize that potential."

Principal Stronghold talks for a bit about the classes that Sky High offers and the many superheroes currently serving the 'greater good of humanity' across the world. Jared goes red when his parents come up and Principal Stronghold spends five minutes talking about how much good they've done and what a shining example they set.

"With all that in mind," he says at last. "I'm going to talk a bit more about what you can expect for the next week or so. Some of you may have heard horror stories about Power Placement and Hero Support. Power Placement has been revised for this and future years following concerns raised with the school board and Hero Support is now one of the mandatory classes for all students. You will all be attending basic classes for the next fortnight before Coach Boomer sorts you based on your powers."

Jared crosses his fingers and prays that his powers come in soon. Principal Stronghold tells them that the class lists are posted right outside the hall and finishes with "I hope you all embrace the opportunities being offered during your heroic journey at Sky High. Good luck."

Jared is in Chad's class but Sandy isn't and they promise to meet at lunch. Tom is in Jared's class too and he turns out to be a really good guy. He introduces Jared to some other people from their middle school, like Daneel who's an actual honest-to-God Amazon and dating Katie who can duplicate herself. Chad gets two words into a dirty comment and five Katies slap him at once. It's kinda cool even if Chad does claim they gave him a concussion.

Jared really likes Chad's friends and it seems to be reciprocated because they save him a seat at lunch which is really useful when Sandy ditches him for Computer Club. Tom collects him from the end of the line and leads him over the table to introduce him to the rest of the group. Misha, a thirteenth generation Shaolin monk who calls him 'J-Pad and Genevieve who's really pretty, really sweet and really a witch.

"A white witch," she says before Tom can finish the introduction, smiling a little. "I'm all about the good mojo."

"That's good to know." Jared says awkwardly, going a little red when she laughs and leans into his side.

"Sorry, but most people hear 'witch' and start thinking 'eye of frog' and naked dancing." she says. "It gets kinda frustrating."

Jared nods because, well, yeah. He's been in school half a day and apparently his parents and his brother are patron saints and if one more person asks if he's really a Galactronian Padalecki, Jared's going to scream. Genevieve – "call me Gen, Jay." - smiles at him and leans in a little more. Jared can smell her perfume which is really distracting so he doesn't catch Tom's sudden tension until Tom swears. "Fuck."

"What's wrong?" Jared asks, sitting up to follow their gazes across to the side of the cafeteria that the 'villain' clique is sitting in.

"Mike's sitting with Kane." Chad says sourly.

"Mike?" Jared asks.

"He was friends with Tom and Kane back before they got their powers." Gen says, sounding sad. "He's not a bad guy, he's just all about the science."

"I told Kane to leave him alone." Tom says angrily, pushing up from his seat. "I fucking told him!"

Jared stands up with everyone else, trailing Tom across the cafeteria on a wave of spreading silence as the rest of the freshmen scatter. Tom has both hands fisted as he stops at the table right at the corner where Kane's sitting with the two guys from assembly and a bald kid with a lab coat on over his jeans and T-shirt.

Jared can actually see Kane's horns from this close, small red nubs poking up through his hair and when he looks up at Tom, his sneer bares fangs. "You lost, Welling? Cheerleader's table is all the way over there, need me to draw you a map?"

"Don't even fucking talk to me, Kane." Tom growls, turning to the bald kid. "I thought you were going to be in the labs for lunch, Mikey. What happened?"

"Jenny-bean said I needed to eat." Mike says from around what is possibly the biggest bologna sandwich Jared's ever seen.

"Jenny-bean?" Chad mocks and one of the other guys turns in his seat to glare up him. Jared's gaze snags on him 'cause even with his lip curled into an ugly sneer, the guy has to be the hottest person in the whole cafeteria. The guy beside him puts a hand on his arm and turns to glare at Chad.

"Fuck off, Murray. No-one asked you."

"Aww, does the poor iddle Jenny-bean need his boyfriend to hold his hand?" Chad sneers and Jared moves a little closer to him, not liking the way the guys are pushing up. "Or are you just afraid he'll like the taste of my dick better, Carlson?"

Carlson stands up and he's not as big as Jared or Tom but he's a lot more solid and he fucking towers over Chad. Jared steps forward just as Chad pushes Carlson back so he stumbles into the table, spilling milk across his lunch. 'Jenny' and Kane jump to their feet and Jared isn't exactly sure what happens next because everyone jumps everyone else.

Kane punches Chad hard enough to knock him flying across the room, then Tom punches _him_. Daneel and Katie pull Mike out of the way while Gen puts up some sort of forcefield. Carlson sings something and Misha's expression goes vacant. Jared shoves Carlson back, more because it's the only thing he can think of than because he expects it to work and 'Jenny' intercepts him.

'Jenny' doesn't punch him, instead, his eyes narrow and Jared's hit by a sudden blast of wind that bowls him right over and under a table. He bumps his head on the leg and just like that, he's furious. The table feels like a featherweight when he lifts it up as he stands. There's a vicious thrill of satisfaction when 'Jenny's eyes widen in shock. He throws the table at 'Jenny' who throws up his hands and the table catches fire in mid-air.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Everyone freezes as Principal Stronghold catches the table in mid-air and tosses it casually out the window. "That's enough from all of you. Mr Ackles, Mr Padalecki, Mr Murray, I'll see you in detention after school. Mr Welling, Mr Kane and Mr Carlson, my office. Now."

The fight breaks up just as easily as that. The bell goes and Jared pulls Chad off to their next class. Gen catches up long enough to squeeze his arm and give him a sympathetic look before she has to run to class. Chad is mopping milk off his T-shirt and bitching that he's going to smell like ass for the rest of the day as they head for Science! 101. Jared tunes him out, pulling his phone out under the desk to text his parents and Sandy to tell them he's going to be late home. He is going to be grounded for the rest of his natural life and settles in to sulk away the last of his first day.

Chad finally stops bitching long enough for Jared to tune back in, just as Chad starts singing his praises. "And the way you just like, scooped that table up like it was paper! You know, they reinforce the density of those tables? Even Tom can't pick one of them up like that. You scared them shitless, dude!"

Jared blinks and sits bolt upright. The teacher, Doctor Dangerfield, looks over at him and Jared sinks a little lower in his seat, hand closing around the table leg which crumples like foil and Jared can't help the huge smile that spreads across his face. He's strong! Super-fucking-strong!

Even the looming threat of detention can't damp the thought that finally, _finally_ his powers have come in. Jared knew that high school was going to **rock** and the rest of the afternoon passes in a bright, happy haze.

Detention is held in a white room with lights that flicker, down in the basement. Jared isn't even to his seat when his stomach rolls. He feels queasy, like the last time at the dentist when he had to have a tooth out. There's this weird floating feeling like he's drifting; arms and legs connected by limp spaghetti. Jared slumps into a chair towards the back and drops his head onto his arms.

Chad slouches in, beelining for the chair next to Jared with a nod. Jared lifts his head, which feels like someone taped a bowling ball to it and grunts in response. A handful of other kids shuffle in. Jared doesn't actually notice 'Jenny' come in but he sees him take one of the seats up front. There's no sign of Kane or Carlson and Jared wonders what Principal Stronghold said to them before the effort of thinking becomes too much. Doctor Dangerfield arrives last, looking pissed.

Doctor Dangerfield punches a code into the panel beside the door and it swings ponderously shut with a solid 'clunk'. He drops a stack of encyclopedias onto the teacher's desk with a bang that makes Jared jump. "Some of you will be feeling a little weak, which is to be expected. This room is equipped with power-dampers all of which are currently active. Your powers are not effective here. I expect you to be on your best behavior and we will endure this childish punishment with the minimum of fuss. Do we understand each other, children?"

There's an unenthusiastic mutter of agreement and Doctor Dangerfield nods crisply, taking a red pen out of his lab coat and opening the first encyclopedia with a put-upon sigh. Chad waits until the Doc is about ten pages in before he pokes Jared in the arm. "Hey, hey Jay, you gotta sit up."

Jared groans but makes a supreme effort and manages to push himself semi-upright. He's sitting four seats behind 'Jenny' who appears to be ignoring the entire world. Jared blinks fuzzily at him then looks over at Chad. "Who's that guy anyway?"

"Jensen?" Chad whispers, eyebrows shooting up. "Our dear little Jenny-boy?"

Jared grunts affirmatively and Chad shoots a careful glance at Doctor Dangerfield who is muttering darkly and scribbling away with his red pen before he leans in and whispers in Jared's ear. "Jensen Ackles, he's one of Kane's best buddies. Kane's crew are the only ones that would even talk to him, he's a bad apple."

Jared peers fuzzily at the blond highlights in Jensen's hair for a minute before he can muster the energy to ask "Why?"

"Jensen _Ackles_." Chad hisses pointedly. "Ackles, Jay."

Jared blinks his confusion across the narrow aisle and Chad rolls his eyes. "Ackles? _Alan_ Ackles AKA Doctor Alan Ackles? AKA-"

"Doctor Freeze." Jared finishes. Doctor Freeze was one of his dad's nemesis, a skilled scientist who got a little too involved in his experiments. Jared's parents had defeated him for the last time when Jared was six but he was still listed as one of Apex and Vortex's most dangerous enemies. Jared tried to rally his sluggish thoughts. "But didn't he go straight? Got married or somethin'?"

"Yeah, married his arch-nemesis, Phoenix." Chad darted another glance at Doctor Dangerfield. "She stopped being a superhero right after. He knocked up like four years before that – Jensen's older brother, Josh. He's in college somewhere, or so I heard. No-one really talks to them."

Jared shifts his gaze back to the stiff shoulders hunched over the desk in front of him and spends the rest of detention thinking about what Chad's told him. Cell phones apparently count as a super-power because Jared's phone starts to buzz the second he struggles out the door. There's four messages from Sandy, two from his mom and a voicemail message from his brother to tell him that their parents have had to go to Brazil to deal with a UFO so Jeff will be waiting to pick him up once he gets out.

Jared waves goodbye to Chad who's being picked up by his mother and is appropriately mortified by that fact. Jeff is waiting with the car their parents bought him for graduation; a modified Lexus/plane hybrid. There's another car on the far side of the line of parked buses, what looks like a classic Chevy in a glossy black, Jared slows to look at it admiringly. Growing up with Sandy has completely failed to teach him basic car maintenance but has left him with a gut-deep appreciation for classic cars.

Someone jostles him and Jared nearly trips down the stairs. Jensen Ackles grabs his arm just long enough to steady him before passing him with a back-handed sneer. "Watch your ass, Sasquatch."

Jeff pushes away from his car, moving to meet Jared and the guy with the classic car starts coming towards them. He looks a little like Jensen and Jared stops at the bottom of the stairs, watching even as Jeff comes to stand beside him. Jensen catches the other guy by the elbow. "Don't, Josh. Seriously, just leave it."

The guy is staring at Jeff with dark eyes and Jeff is staring right back. Jared's starting to feel like a lightning rod in the middle of an storm. "Starborn."

"Glacier." Jeff says flatly.

Jensen's tugging the other guy away and Jared bumps his shoulder into Jeff's and the tension gives for a second. Jensen and Glacier turn away and Jeff snorts. "Tell me you are not hanging with Icicles, little brother? I'd hate to have to leave you to hitch-hike home."

"No, no," Jared rolls his eyes. "He's the reason I was in detention."

"Keeping up the tradition, then?" Jeff claps him on the back. "Atta boy!"

"I didn't know you knew the Ackles." Jared straps in as Jeff starts the car.

"You kidding? Glacier is like my nemesis." Jeff laughs. "Or likes to think he is, anyway."

"Huh," Jared says thoughtfully. "I didn't know that."

"Not a big deal. The only reason he's worth paying _any_ attention to is that he's a Daddy's boy."

"Oh?"

"He inherited his dad's powers; extreme temperature control," Jeff explains. "When your powers start to kick in, you'll find that extreme cold is a real drain. It's the only real weakness any Galactronian has."

Jared can't help the smile, the Ackles completely forgotten in the rush of happiness at the reminder that he's not waiting for his powers to kick in anymore. Jeff looks over at him while he's checking his mirrors and Jared's smile could probably be seen from outer space. "No? Seriously?"

"I threw one of the lunch tables at Jensen." Jared admits.

"The lunch tables? Seriously!?" Jeff grins at him, reaching over to clap his shoulder hard. "That's fucking sweet, congratulations!"

Jeff takes him to grab a milkshake and a burger in celebration and it's cool to just hang with his big brother again. Jeff has been busy with college for the last two years and Jared has missed being able to just sit back and shoot the shit.

They both forget that Jared's supposed to be coming straight back from detention and it's dark before they head home. Jared is still riding the high of his unlocked powers right up until Jeff pulls up. He can see his dad's truck in the drive and all of a sudden it all comes rushing back. He gulps and the milkshake curdles in his stomach.

"Dude, relax!" Jeff laughs, stepping out of the car. "They are going to be pumped that your powers came in. Who cares about a stupid detention compared to that?"

Jared's still nervous as he gets his key out. He fumbles the lock and accidentally pushes the door in and off its' hinges. The sound of oak against his momma's slate tiles sounds shatteringly loud in the quiet. His dad's coming down the stairs and he just stops dead and stares at Jared.

"Um...hi, dad?"

"Jared?" His dad looks at the door, then at Jared. "You're strong?"

Jared nods hesitantly and his dad sweeps him up in a bone-crushing hug and Jared hugs back out of a sense of self-preservation and his dad grunts in pleased surprise. "You _are_ strong."

His dad looks more pleased than Jared thinks he's ever seen him, calling his mom in from the kitchen. His mom fusses around him delightedly and asks a hundred and one questions about the people he's met. Jared's grateful she's taking an interest but he's not really sure why she wants to know _now_. She seems really happy when he stammers a little when trying to describe Genevieve and Jeff laughs at him. Jared wonders why exactly his mom's picked now to be the worst possible type of prying mom and buries his blushes behind the spinach.

He finds out after dinner, when his mom ropes Jeff and Megan into helping her wash the dishes and his dad sits him down in the den.

"Son, you might be noticing as you grow up, there are some changes. Your strength is one of those changes." His dad sounds seriously uncomfortable and Jared is having flashbacks to the last time his dad tried to give him the Talk. His dad had meandered around the point for fifteen minutes before giving him a book instead.

"Dad? You know we had the sex talk right? I told you I wasn't dating Sandy and you didn't believe me?"

"I know." His dad takes a deep breath. "I'm not talking about sex. I'm talking about growing up as a Galactronian."

"Oh."

"Galactronians are a strong people, Jared. It's something we're proud of. I don't want you to forget that. I wasn't expecting to need to give you this talk just yet but your powers could take a lot of time to come in and I want you to be ready for the whole process."

"When will all my powers come in?" Jared asks, feeling kinda cheated. Human puberty is already a bitch and no-one had told him that powers for Galactronians defied convention and didn't just come in all at once.

"That depends but it could take a while. I want you to promise me that you'll be careful." His dad sounds serious. "Promise me you'll be careful, Jared."

"I promise, Dad." Jared says sincerely.

"Power like we have, Jared, needs a lot strength." His dad pats his arm and stands up. "I know you'll be strong."

Jared grabs a shower and goes to bed, too tired to process. He doesn't remember until he's most of the way asleep that he hasn't called Sandy. Jared rolls over and thinks fuzzily that he'll have to call her in the morning. He dreams of tornadoes and hurricanes and brilliant green eyes and wakes up with his sheets stuck to him.

Life at Sky High turns out to be every bit as awesome as Jared ever dreamed it would be. He has a group of awesome friends; Tom turns out to be nearly as strong as Jared and they wind up sparring partners more often than not. Danneel helps him with history and he helps her with Home Ec. Chad turns out to be a bit of a jerk but he's a decent guy underneath.

Sandy still hangs out with him at home but she's joined just about every club and extra curricular group and he never sees her in school. They actually fight around Halloween when Jared hangs around to pick her up after Drama and she comes out arm-in-fucking-arm with Jensen Ackles. Sandy won't listen to him when he tries to warn her about Jensen's background.

"You don't even know him, Jared!"

"I've been in detention with him every week since the first day!" Jared snaps.

"And you've said what, three words to him?" Sandy yells. "I expected better than that from you, Jared! You're smarter than that! You're _better_ than that!"

They don't talk for something like a month after that and Jared starts avoiding her. He does notice Sandy hanging out with Jensen and Kane and their crew between classes but he's not going to waste effort banging his head on that particular wall.

Jared doesn't really have time to miss her; he's spending more time with his school friends and Jeff is back from college. He's trying to work up the courage to actually ask Gen out when Jeff finally explains why their parents keep asking about her. It turns out that thee is something about Galactronians that his dad didn't warn him about; Jared's powers are triggered by being around a potential mate. Jeff calls it a biological shortcut through the nightmare that is dating. "Fucking super-human, dude! It's awesome!"

Jared still thinks it's all sorts of creepy.

Misha tells him he should just go with the flow and trust the universe. Jared thinks the universe can bite him.

 

He's late for detention one day, a fortnight before the holidays because Gen kissed him over their biology project. It was a good kiss, as far as Jared could judge from his less than vast experience but Jared felt unsettled and snappish.

He certainly hasn't gotten any more powers from it which is just the icing on the damn cake. He makes it to the white room just before Doctor Dangerfield closes the door and the only empty chair is in the front row, right beside Jensen fucking Ackles, which is really what Jared needed to top the day.

He tosses his bag on the floor and flops into the chair, irritation winning over the damper-induced lethargy. Jensen shoots him a sidelong glance and Jared scowls at him. Jensen looks away and Jared settles deeper into his chair with a nasty feeling of satisfaction. He wants to talk to Sandy about the whole powers thing and the kiss and he can't and it's all Jensen fucking Ackles' fault.

He turns in his chair to stare at Jensen who is staring fixedly at the blackboard. Jared's never actually been this close to him before without someone throwing a punch. Doctor Dangerfield is working his way through Volume 18: S - Sn when Jared glances at him and Jensen's jaw is taut when Jared turns back and gets comfortable.

There's nothing Jensen can do to stop Jared looking at him and it's driving him nuts. Jared looks him up and down; taking in the blond highlights, high cheekbones and girly lashes. He's actually kind of surprised to realize that he was right, back on their first day; Jensen really is the hottest guy Jared's ever seen.

He's even got freckles, faint brown dots dappled across his nose and cheeks. He keeps shifting as if he can shrug off Jared's gaze if he just tries hard enough. Jared is fascinated despite himself. He's never ever had a chance to study Jensen like this and he's taking his time.

When Doctor Dangerfield cuts them loose at last, Jensen pretty much bolts and Jared isn't even thinking when he chases him out to the parking lot. He just isn't ready to let that new facet to Jensen slip away without a fight. He doesn't notice that Jeff isn't there as he follows Jensen over to his brother's car and grabs his arm.

"The fuck do you want?" Jensen snaps, spinning around so they're practically nose-to-nose.

Jared steps back, hands up. "Jeez, take it easy! No need to take my damn head off."

Jensen folds his arms and glowers at him. "Yeah, 'cause you're Mr Pacifist. What the fuck do you _want_ , Padalecki?"

"I just want to talk." Jensen snorts derisively. "Just talk, I swear."

"Uh-huh, just like you've wanted to talk every other time we've been in the same room."

"The hell's your problem?" Jared growls.

"My problem?" Jensen lets out a disbelieving laugh. "You've been treating me like the devil incarnate since day one and _I_ 'm the one with the fucking problem?"

Jared scrubs a hand through his hair, feeling a little guilty "Well, you haven't exactly been making an effort to be Mr Congeniality either, dude."

Jensen sighs and leans back against the car, eyes sliding away towards the horizon. "So? What do you want to talk about then?"

Jared flounders for a second. "I wanted to talk to you about this. We've been fighting for months and I'm sick of it. I thought we might try talking. Don't you think your girlfriend would rather have you back before eight o'clock for once?"

"My girlfriend?" Jensen does this totally unfair thing with his eyebrow and smirks at him.

"Sandy." Jared says awkwardly.

Jensen stares at him for a second then damn near falls over laughing. Jared folds his arms and huffs at him as Jensen fights to catch his breath. "You think I'm dating _Sandy_?"

"What's wrong with Sandy?" Jared snaps defensively. He's going to punch Jensen's pretty face in if he says one wrong word about Sandy.

"Nothing. Sandy is awesome and I'm sure she's going to make some straight guy very happy."

"Straight guy? You're not a straight guy?" Jared says stupidly. Jensen cocks a meaningful eyebrow and Jared flushes. "I didn't know you were gay! Nobody ever told me you were gay!"

"Because being my dad's son isn't enough of a excuse to beat me up?" Jensen's tone is sharp and Jared bites his lip. "It's not a secret but I don't see a need to take out adverts or anything."

"Oh." Jared says. It seems inadequate and he fumbles for more. "That's cool. I mean, it's not my business but I'm glad you told me."

"Care and share time done yet?" Jensen says, turning back to the car.

"I guess." Jared says reluctantly, stepping back. He's still reeling from how approachable Jensen's been and he doesn't want to stop talking but Jensen's tone suggests the conversation is over. Jared turns away and is confronted with a total lack of Jeff and cars. "Ah crap!"

"What?" Jensen winds down his window and leans out.

"My brother didn't show." Jared is still staring at the empty car park.

"Dude, that sucks." Jensen leans out the window to look past him.

"Yeah..." Jared sighs. "Jerk. He was supposed to be here to pick me up. My parents will kill me if I'm late."

"You want to give them a call?" Jensen prompts and Jared nods reluctantly fumbling for his phone. Josh doesn't answer. He rings his dad's phone which goes straight to voicemail. He tries his mum but her phone rings out. Jared chews his lip and looks around.

"Problem?" Jensen asks.

"My parents must be stuck in work." Jared says absently, thumbing the menu. "I'm gonna have to call someone for a lift. This sucks. I'm going to be here _forever_."

"Or you could just hitch a ride with me." Jensen arches an eyebrow. "Assuming you don't think I'm going to do something nefarious once I know your address."

"Yeah, you're a real evil mastermind." Jared mocks, hand on the door handle. "You don't mind? I'd really, really appreciate the ride. You would be saving my life, I swear."

"Ass in car and mouth shut, Padalecki or I leave your giant ass here." Jensen slides on a pair of sunglasses and looks across the bench seat.

"Yes sir!" Jared gets in and the radio starts playing 'Thunderstruck' and Jared can't hold in the laughter. Jensen pokes him in the ribs and Jared squawks and flails wildly. Jensen cracks up and they're both laughing hard enough to drown out the music.

It's pitch black by the time Jensen drops him off and Jared waves him goodbye with a smile he doesn't entirely feel. He was surprised to find that Jensen, without the bluster and the posturing, is actually a really good guy. Jared clicks with him in a way that he didn't even click with Sandy. He feels a little stupid and a lot like a jerk that it's taken nearly half a year to find this out.

Jensen opened up during the long drive back from Sky High. He told Jared that he'd dreaded going to Sky High so badly that he tried to suppress his powers when he was seven. He'd been hospitalized for weeks afterwards. Kane had been the first kid he ever met who hadn't hated him the second he introduced himself. Jared felt about six inches tall and an overwhelmingly urge to punch himself in the face.

He goes around the back because he doesn't want to break the front door again. He's so wrapped up in what he's just learnt that he doesn't notice the silence until he's halfway to the stairs. Jeff is standing in the door to the dining room, looking proud and happy. Jared can see his parents sitting on the sofa, his mom holding his dad's hand tightly and both of them pale.

"Mom? Dad?" Jared stops in the hall and he can see his mom's knuckles go white.

"Jared, isn't it?" A man is sitting in his dad's armchair, smiling like Marlon Brando in the Godfather and Jared tenses up.

"Ye-ah?" He says warily.

"It's such a pleasure to finally meet you." The man stands up and Jared gets his first good look at him. He's tall with dark hair and a faintly familiar face. It takes Jared a second to realize it's because the guy looks like his dad.

"Jared!" His mom stands up, pulling his dad with her.

"Mom?" Jared doesn't take his eyes off the guy. "Who is this guy?"

"You can call me...Jerome." The guy says, still smiling. "I'm your uncle."

"My uncle." Jared says slowly, looking to his parents then over to where Jeff is smiling. "I didn't know I had a uncle."

"You have many uncles, Jared. They're all waiting to meet you. We have missed you so much."

"I've never met you before in my life." Jared says as he starts to back towards the door. "I don't think you can miss someone you've never met before."

"Oh, but we knew you existed, Jared. We've been waiting to meet you for so long." Jerome keeps coming, still smiling. "You will be a hero to these people and to the Empire."

"The Empire?" Jared can't help it, he looks over to his parents. His dad looks grey and old suddenly.

"We never wanted you to know, Jared." His mom says desperately. "We never wanted you to be part of the Empire."

Jerome's smile goes fixed. "The Galactronian Empire is the wonder of the Galaxy. We spread order and knowledge to the lesser peoples we encounter. We are a good people and a virtuous one. We spread strength throughout the galaxy."

"Through genocide and tyranny!" His dad shouts and Jerome's head snaps around. Jared doesn't see him move but his dad is suddenly flying through the air and he crashes through the wall.

"We bring strength!" Jerome says harshly.

"Jared, please." His mom is looking at him, one hand at her throat. Jared sees a metal collar under her pearls and his blood runs cold. "Please, sweetheart. Run!"

Jared spins around but Jeff is there, blocking the door and still smiling like this is all some big joke. "It's okay, Jay. We're going to make this world so much better, just wait and see. We're going to make everything better. We're going to be heroes."  
"No," Jared spits. "This isn't right, Jeff!"

"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Jay." Jeff steps forward and Jared's heart sinks when the light catches on the metal around his brother's throat. "You're strong but I'm faster and I can fly. You aren't going to win. You can't win."

"Fuck you!" Jared doesn't even think, he just lashes out and Jeff's expression doesn't have time to change. Jeff goes flying through the opposite wall. There's a second where everything just stops and Jared turns back to see Jerome's smile flicker. "Get the fuck out of my house."

"Oh, Jared." Jerome's smile comes back. "You are stronger than we expected but you can't really think that I came alone?"

Jared hears the door crash in and he dodges the first attempt to grab him. There's five or six of them, all looking familiar and Jared is surrounded before he has a chance to run. Jerome holds out his hand, his smile turning triumphant. "Your strength will help you rise to great power within the Empire, Jared. You will make us stronger."

"I won't be part of this!" Jared shouts as he backs into the wall.

"Oh Jared," Jerome says fondly. "You cannot believe that you actually have a choice?"

Jared takes a deep breath, hands tightened into fists and he can hear his mother's sobbing breathing from the dining room. He's totally surrounded and Jerome is taking another collar out of his pocket. There's no way out.

"Jared?" Jensen's voice brings Jared's head snapping around. "What's going o-?"

Jensen breaks off as Jared sees the Galactronians nearest to the door start to move. "Jensen! Freeze them!"

He hears Jensen yelp, then the temperature drops so suddenly and so sharply that Jared's breath crystallizes in the air. Jared feels his muscles go slack and the Galactronians around him sway sharply. Jared pushes himself through the lethargy, fighting away the disconnected over-cooked spaghetti feeling with the practice of months of detention and lashes out.

The other Galactronians offer any resistance, staggering around like they're stoned and Jared bowls them over easily. He turns, lips spreading in a wide disbelieving smile. Jensen is standing in the doorway, eyes wide and lips parted. Jared is opening his mouth to call his name when he sees Jerome fly across the hall. There's a split second as he hits Jensen when Jared can _see_ Jensen's neck snap; Jensen frozen in mid-air with his neck angled impossibly back.

He hits the floor in a crumpled mess and the cold starts to ebb away. Jerome looks down at him and sneers. "Weak and useless."

Jared's heart just stops. He can feel his blood pulsing through his veins, so hard that his arms are shaking with the force of it but his chest feels like everything's been sucked up into a black hole. All he can see is Jensen; pretty Jensen: Jensen who Jared fought for four wasted months: Jensen who came back to save him: Jensen who died to save the world from 'heroes' who would enslave it.

The roar that tears free of his throat is loud enough to shake the house and Jared hits Jerome like a freight train. They crash up through the roof, Jerome's fat smug face right in front of him. Jerome is clawing at his arms but Jared's strong. Jared's strong and Jared's fast and Jared is going to kill him slowly.

They crash through billboards and warehouses. Jared has no idea where they are and he doesn't care. Jerome is struggling, thrashing to get loose. Jared slams him into the ground, hard enough to leave a crater.

"I'm going to kill you." He says simply.

Jerome is still fighting and Jared slams him into the ground again. "You come to my home! You put collars on my family! You attack my dad! You kill my friend!"

The concrete is pretty much gravel, chunks of grey being driven under Jerome's skin with the force of Jared's attack. Jerome is struggling to breathe but he's still smiling. His lips shape words that Jared shouldn't be able to hear. "Just a friend?"

Evading a kick, Jared punches him and snaps his head around, sending another spray of concrete shards through the air. "You don't get to talk about him. You _don't talk about him_?"

Jerome's smile looks triumphant again and Jared can feel the barb go home. In the tiny part of his brain that isn't devoted to turning Jerome into raw hamburger, Jared clocks the super-speed he needed to punch Josh, the flight he needed to get here and he freezes in place.

The harsh panting fills the air. Jerome is motionless underneath him and Jared is shaking with the force of his emotions. Jerome has stopped fighting but his chest still heaves. Jared stares down into that smug smirk and it would be so easy. Jerome is helpless, broken and defeated. It would be so easy to just finish him, save the world.

Jared pulls back his fist and Jensen's face flashes before his eyes. Jared remembers his voice when he talked about why he had come to Sky High after all. " _In the end, it isn't who you are that makes you a hero. It doesn't matter what they said about you or where you came from. Being a hero is what you do._ "

He drops his hand and Jerome's smile falters. His breath rasps through broken teeth. "Finish.. it!"

"I'm going to." Jared stands up, suddenly aware of the burning ache of his knuckles and the tears still flowing down his cheeks.

"Kill me..." Jerome whispers. "Take your...revenge. Prove your...strength."

"I'm not going to kill you." Jared spits because his chest is still an empty aching void and he's holding it together by the skin of his teeth but this is important. "I'm stronger than you. I'm _better_ than you. I don't need to kill you to prove that."

Jerome starts to struggle and Jared picks him up like a garbage sack and flies him back into town. He leaves him on the steps of the police station and the alarms start going off before he's back in the air. Jared doesn't hang around to explain. He's hurting and he's tired and he wants his mom to tell him that it's all going to be okay.

He flies home to find police cars lining the street, sirens and lights on. He can see the other Galactronians being handcuffed and loaded into police vans with reinforced sides. His mom and dad are in costume, standing by the porch. He doesn't see Jeff anywhere and he's distantly grateful for that. He doesn't want to see his brother right now; or possibly ever again. He lands beside his mom, staggering and sore and still fucking crying.

"Jared! Oh thank God!" His mom wraps him up in a tight hug. "Oh sweetie, we were so worried! Where did you go? Your father couldn't find you anywhere! We were so worried!"

Jared burrows into her arms and snuffles. He's cracking but he can't break or he'll never be able to put himself back together. Doing the right thing is cold comfort. His mom pets his hair and croons soothingly.

"It's okay, sweetheart. It's okay."

Jared wants to ask how it can be okay when Jensen is _dead_ but he can't make his voice work.

"Jay?" It's his dad and Jared tenses up at the tone of his voice. "I hate to ask you, son but the police need to take your statement. I need to to drop Jensen home but I'll stay if you need me."

Jared lifts his head to stare at his dad. Jensen's _dead_. Jared saw him die and just the thought of Jensen's neck bending back at that angle makes his stomach clench up and he gags, dry retching into his mom's flowers.

"Jared!?" His parents chorus.

"Jay?" Jensen's voice is softer, more hesitant but it's real. Jared spins around so fast that he feels dizzy. Jensen is standing there, hands shoved in his jacket pockets and his hair is ridiculously mussed up. He's amazing.

Jared doesn't consciously make the decision to hug Jensen. He just goes from staring at Jensen to wrapped around him, sniffling into the warm curve of Jensen's neck. Jensen laughs a little self-consciously and pats his back.

"You're alive." Jared manages eventually, his voice gruff and tiny.

"Can't get anything past you, can I?" Jensen rubs his back and laughs a little more. He sounds giddy and relieved and he's shaking but he's alive and Jared may never get over how marvelous that is.

"How are you alive?" Jared demands. "I saw him hit you, I _saw_ it. I saw your neck snap."

Jensen snorts. "Funny thing, everyone's so worked up about who my dad is that they never really think about my mom."

"Your mom?" Jared remembers Chad saying something about her. "She was a superhero, yeah?"

"Yeah." Jensen's smiling, Jared can hear it in his voice. "They used to call her Phoenix."

Jared looks up at Jensen and suddenly he can smile. He hugs Jensen tighter and laughs. There's a edge of hysteria but it's laughter and Jared thinks everything might just be alright. He's had his whole self image shaken up and taken apart. His worst enemy has become his best friend overnight. He's trashed the house even. There's just one thing missing from the perfect picture.

"Hey, Jensen?"

"Yeah?" Jensen loosens his grip reluctantly and Jared straightens up a little so he's looking down at Jensen's pink cheeks and parted lips.

"Want to be my sweetheart?" Jensen's eyebrows shoot up and Jared leans in to kiss him. Jensen laughs incredulously and kisses him back and it's just perfect.


	2. Mother's Pride, Father's Joy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timestamp for jellicle, set five years after the main story

"Hey Momma," Jensen says quietly, shoulders hunched a little as he scuffs at the dirt. "Dad, good to see you. Sorry, I know I'm late. Got hung up in New York and Josh didn't wanna wait. I know, I know, it's not a big deal but well, I'm still getting used to this whole team thing and well, it's kinda been a media circus since we graduated. Jared- Did you know that he's settled on Hyperion? Five years of waffling and changing his hero name every other month and he picks _Hyperion_. Over my dead body this time, just like I said he'd have to and yeah, yeah, I know. No joking about Jensen-killing-himself.

"Seriously though, Hyperion? It's like the most cliché name ever. I'm keeping Phoenix, yeah, figured you'd like it. I mean, okay, our superhero pairing is HP which always makes me think of Harry Potter but I think it's the right choice.But yeah, there was a reason I wanted to talk to you. I got some news, big news."

There's a rustle of cloth and Jensen leans back into Jared's warmth, letting his partner's cloak billow around them both. "I-god, I had like a dozen different speeches but fuck it. We're getting married. Probably not until June but it'll be like a quiet little ceremony and everyone's already RSVPing; Principal Stronghold is coming even."

Jared's arms wrap securely around Jensen's waist as Jensen rubs at his eyes and he kisses Jensen's cheek. Jensen clears his throat and sets down the small bunch of flowers. The eternal flame casts the etched letters into sharp relief. Jensen's voice is a whisper. "I wish you could've been there."


	3. Married at Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Timestamp for kisachanlove; Jared and Jensen finally get married.

"Jared, so help me, if you are getting cold feet," Jensen hisses through his teeth. "I'm going to put you on ice _permanently_ "

He goes back to fiddling with his stupid cuff-links and cursing whoever decided grooms had to wear tuxedoes to their weddings. Why did he let Jared talk him into wearing white?

"Relax, Jenny-bean," Josh claps him on the back and grins when Jensen snarls at him. He should have asked Chris to be his best man. "Your boy's not gonna stand you up."

"Damn right!" Jeff says confidently, coming in from what is supposed to be Jared's dressing room with a bottle of Jack in his hand. "He's crazy about you!"

Jensen's soon-to-be-brother-in-law is probably _already_ a little drunk but Jensen's pretty sure of Jeff's sincerity. Largely because Jeff claps him on the back, he knocks Jensen through the damn _wall_.

Thankfully, the length of time it takes to treat Jensen's concussion works out to be exactly as long as it takes Jared to finish foiling the bank robbery and sprint to the church.

It kinda sums up the whole relationship, Jensen thinks. just before he smashes his slice of wedding cake into Jared's huge smile.


End file.
